Summary
using and setting up quickdraw contours
Welcome to our guide to Garmin Quickdraw Contours! Here you'll discover a revolutionary feature that lets you instantly create customized HD bathymetric charts. No need to enter information manually, the free Quickdraw Contours software on your Garmin fishfinder chartplotter automatically creates your maps as you navigate.
Whether you're a fishing enthusiast or an adventure-seeking sailor, this innovation will enable you to explore the seabed with unrivalled precision, and enhance your nautical charts by adding details clearly indicated on screen.
Read our guide and become a bathymetric champion with Garmin Quickdraw Contours and create and share your own maps for an unforgettable navigation and fishing experience!
using and setting up quickdraw contours
Welcome to our guide to Garmin Quickdraw Contours! Here you'll discover a revolutionary feature that lets you instantly create customized HD bathymetric charts. No need to enter information manually, the free Quickdraw Contours software on your Garmin fishfinder chartplotter automatically creates your maps as you navigate.
Whether you're a fishing enthusiast or an adventure-seeking sailor, this innovation will enable you to explore the seabed with unrivalled precision, and enhance your nautical charts by adding details clearly indicated on screen.
Read our guide and become a bathymetric champion with Garmin Quickdraw Contours and create and share your own maps for an unforgettable navigation and fishing experience!
Quickdraw contours on Garmin fishfinders
What is quickdraw contours?
Garmin QuickDraw Contours is an innovative and powerful feature integrated into Garmin fishfinders. It allows boaters and fishermen to create their own detailed bathymetric maps in real time, directly on their fishfinder screen.
When Garmin QuickDraw Contours is activated, the depth sounder starts recording depth data as you navigate. The information gathered is then processed in real time by the device to create a customized bathymetric map, displaying the contours of the seabed with great precision.
The major advantage of Garmin QuickDraw Contours is its ease of use. No mapping skills are required, as the feature works automatically. Simply navigate to the waters you wish to map, and the sounder takes care of the rest.
Once you've completed your outing, you can save the bathymetric map you've created to an SD memory card. These maps can then be shared with other Garmin users or uploaded to the Garmin QuickDraw Contours community platform, where you can view maps created by other boaters.
The Quickdraw Contours function lets you generate your own bathymetry using any vertical-technology probe.
- DownVü
- 2D Chirp
- NMEA2000
- Panoptix Down
- 2D Traditional
HOW TO ACTIVATE QUICKDRAW CONTOURS?
From the navigation map, select: Menu > Quickdraw Contours then " Start recording ". (Steps and interfaces may vary according to your GPS Sounder model).
Select QuickDraw Contours
Click on the QuickDraw menu
Start QuickDraw recording
Once recording is activated, a bathymetric map with depth curves displayed every 30 cm is automatically displayed. Sounding lines are created in real time, as you progress in the field.
Quickdraw contours settings
DEPTH SHADING
It is possible to identify the zones of the same depth thanks to the "Depth shading" function. The user can define the minimum/maximum value and the color for each zone (up to 10 zones possible).
ADVANCED SETTINGS
Quickdraw Contours allows you to compensate for any differences in water level:
- Recording offset : adds a positive value if the lake level is higher than its usual height on the day of recording.
- Display offset: to compensate for water level fluctuations (e.g. on a dammed lake) between the recorded data and the bottom display on the day in question.
COmmunity and sharing quickdraw maps
DATA RECORDING
Quickdraw Contours data are automatically saved to the remaining free memory space on the SD card.
Easily transfer your bathymetric data to another SD card using your computer or any compatible device with 2 microSD/SD card ports. Simplify the management of your cartographic data and benefit from greater flexibility in the use of your surveys on different devices.
Recent Garmin trackers can read a 32 GB SDHC card, from class 4 to class 10. Some older trackers will require a software update.
Complete coverage of a square area uses in the best case about 1 MB for 1000 acres. A straight line over a long distance (like New York to London on the open sea) is the worst case, with 1 hour at 20 mph consuming around 40 MB. Average usage would be closer to 1 MB per 100 acres.
ACTIVE CAPTAIN MOBILE APPLICATION
It is possible to share your Quickdraw recordings or to download Quickdraw recordings made available by other users. The QuickDraw community is accessible from a computer or from a compatible smartphone or tablet.
The "ActiveCaptain" mobile application is available on theAppStore or PlayStore.
To download data from the QuickDraw community:
- Click on the menu at the top right of the screen
- Click on " Download from the Quickdraw Community ".
- Locate the area you wish to download
- Click on " Download zone ".
Then synchronize your mobile device data with your Garmin display to retrieve Quickdraw community data on your Garmin GPS handset.
GARMIN CONNECT
The Garmin Connect website is available at connect.garmin.com. To connect, use the same username and password you used to register your device and/or download the Starter Map.
On the Garmin Connect home page, click on "Dashboard". Choose "Marine" from the drop-down menu, click on the "+" button and add the QuickDraw function to your dashboard. This takes you to the Garmin Connects QuickDraw Contours interface, where you can share and download your maps.
Downloading a quickdraw map via garmin connect
To download bathymetric maps shared by other users:
- Click on " Search for bathymetric curves ",
- Locate the area you wish to download,
- Click on "Select a zone for downloading".
- Click on "Start download".
- Save the file on your garmin SD card
Finally, insert the SD card containing the downloaded file into your device to view the bathymetric data for the downloaded area.